


The Year of the Sun

by thesunflowerchild



Series: basking in the sun [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Baby!Jaemin, Based on Real Events, Ew, Little bit angsty, M/M, Male Lactation, Oh wait, Parkinson's Disease, Slice of Life, a few trigger warnings, baby!donghyuck, baby!jeno, mostly fluffy, oh yeah last one, okay, okay i think that's it, overuse of the word tiny, sick!donghyuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:35:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23331004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesunflowerchild/pseuds/thesunflowerchild
Summary: A month-by-month of Johnny and Ten's first year with their new baby, DonghyuckORJohnny and Ten's first year with their own personal sun
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Series: basking in the sun [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1677244
Comments: 19
Kudos: 214





	The Year of the Sun

**Author's Note:**

> okay so this is the sequel to Our Journey to the Sun, and it can be read as a standalone, but if you want the full story you should probably read that one first.
> 
> things about this one:  
> \- i also don't like it, but i like it better than the last one  
> \- donghyuck's sickness is based off of my little cousin's, his own, and his parent's struggles with it  
> \- at 10 months, is where the trigger warning is (graphic miscarriage), if you want to skip it  
> \- also, 10 months is a scenario that i've experienced in my personal life. let's just say that i'm ten in that situation, except i'm not pregnant... (you'll see)  
> \- i wrote this before the last one, actually, and this one is a lot more recent than the last... it think they're about a year apart,, so it might be a little weird  
> \- oh wait one last thing,, you may have noticed in the last one, but it's the same in this one: it's hard to tell, but the tenses change if a character is recalling something in the past. you'll notice if you squint
> 
> okay it think that's it
> 
> if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask, and again, please tell me what you think in the comments, being 100% honest!
> 
> also come scream with me on [the bird app](https://twitter.com/thesunniechild)
> 
> enjoy!!

**June 6th**

Ten wakes up slowly, his vision swimming as he blinks and looks around the room. His neck is stiff, and his whole lower body aches something akin to a dancing injury. He hears a soft beeping and that alone is enough to startle him completely awake. He glances toward the corner of the room to see Johnny leaning over a tiny bassinet, softly cooing in English.

_ Holy shit,  _ he realizes.  _ I’m a mother, Johnny’s a father, and that’s our baby he’s talking to! _

Ten sits up, making a sleepy noise and one of slight pain.  _ I must be pretty drugged up to not remember squeezing a baby out of my body,  _ he thinks.

Johnny looks up and smiles. “Hey baby,” he whispers, not moving from his spot in front of the  _ real  _ baby. “You were out for a long time.”

“How long?” Ten groans, holding his pounding head.

“Long enough for our little Hyuckie to get hungry,” Johnny picks up the wiggling newborn and cradles him in his arms as he steps to Ten’s bedside.

“Already?” Ten jokes, taking his tiny child in his arms. “The kid’s not even a full day old and he’s already asking and asking for extra meals?”

Ten holds Donghyuck close as he unbuttons his hospital gown to nurse the baby again. Ten’s nipples are sore and swollen, and he never thought before how much a newborn baby could feed so much in their first hours of life - this will be Donghyuck’s third time breastfeeding in his entire life of 20 hours.

Both Johnny and Ten watch their newborn son with incredible fondness as he snuggles impossibly closer to Ten's chest. Donghyuck latches well, and he suckles at Ten's breast until all the milk is gone. Donghyuck mewls, and Ten gently transfers the baby to his other breast.

Johnny looks on as his husband and son bond, and as soon as Donghyuck is done, Ten gives him the sleepy baby to do skin-to-skin bonding. Johnny takes off his shirt and sits on the sofa-bed on the wall and places a naked Donghyuck on his own bare chest. A nurse comes in to assist in draping a blanket over them, since Ten can't get out of bed.

“He's so tiny,” Johnny whispers, placing his large hand on Donghyuck's back under the blanket.

Ten smiles tiredly at his husband and their new baby basking in the sunlight.

“I love you, Johnny.” He says softly.

“I love you too, Ten.”

**1 Month**

Donghyuck is a generally happy baby.

Even at a month old, he squirms around on the blanket that his parents lay out for him, happily watching as they talk to him and sing to him. He coos and gurgles and hums and giggles. He flaps his arms around a lot, and he kicks his legs even more.

Ten is tired all the time, from looking after his baby. When he and Johnny had planned on having a baby, they knew it was going to be tiring, but they hadn’t anticipated it to be  _ this  _ tiring. Donghyuck is a bad sleeper, and he has a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep. He’ll cry for hours at a time, begging for his mother and father’s attention, but even after he gains it sometimes, he’ll cry on. It’s got Ten stressed past his limit, and he’s showing the beginning symptoms of postpartum depression, with the way he constantly feels like he’s a horrible mother.

Yet, Donghyuck is pleasant when he’s not irritable, so during the day, he’s normally fine.

Johnny tries to convince Ten that he is indeed a good mother, and that maybe it’s just something Taeyong and Jaehyun forgot to tell them about all babies before Donghyuck was born. 

“I have no idea,” Taeyong says one night. Johnny had called him after six solid hours of Donghyuck crying, and Ten had broken, beginning to cry along with his son.

“No?” Johnny asks in disbelief. “Jeno and Jaemin didn’t cry like this? For this long?”

“No, they were good sleepers.” Taeyong says quietly. His own husband and children are asleep in his home.

“I don’t know what to do, Yong.” Johnny drags a hand down his face and glances over his shoulder where a sleeping Ten was cradling his still-awake baby. “Ten fell apart tonight, and Hyuckie still isn’t asleep.”

“Maybe you should take him to the doctor. I don’t want to scare you, but it’s entirely possible it’s something that’s not as simple as just not sleeping.” Taeyong suggests. “And talk to Tennie. It sounds like he’s depressed.”

“Yeah, I read up on that. Postpartum depression? He’s showing a bunch of symptoms.”

Taeyong sighs on the other side of the line. “I’m so sorry, Johnny. You and Ten were looking forward to having a baby so much, and now it’s all backfiring.”

Johnny takes a deep breath. “Yeah,” he sighs.

**2 Months**

Donghyuck sleeps about 2-3 hours during the day only, and cries most of the night.

Ten has resorted to a reversed sleep schedule, where he sleeps most of the day and cares for the baby during the night. He’s still strung out, but he’s learned to deal with his stress in more healthy ways. That doesn’t mean though, that he doesn’t still cry sometimes, or have self-doubts. The schedule is often interrupted, however, when Ten has an appointment to go to during the day, or something else. Ten’s running on about 2 or 3 hours of sleep per day, and it’s running him ragged.

Johnny works most of the day, and he also has a part time night job. Money is tight, and they haven’t paid the car bill since the baby was born. Johnny takes the bus to the subway, and from there, he takes another bus, and then walks the rest of the way to work, but sometimes Taeyong or Jaehyun will pick him up and drop him off on their way to take the kids to daycare. 

The doctors still don’t know what exactly is wrong with Donghyuck, but they don’t want to put a baby as small as him on medications, and neither do his parents. Both Ten and Johnny want to try home remedies to help their son sleep before resorting to medication.

Taeyong and Jaehyun help as much as they can, sometimes sacrificing precious time with their family to come over and help Ten with Donghyuck.

Taeyong tells Ten that he and the baby can come over during the day, so Ten can get some rest in the guest room, and so Taeyong can help care for Donghyuck. He only wakes Ten if the Thai man’s baby needs to be breastfed, or if he absolutely won’t stop crying, and needs his own mother's comfort.

Johnny and Ten are eternally grateful, and constantly try to make it up to the other couple, but they refuse, only offering to help more and more.

Donghyuck is still an active and playful baby, and he’s just recently discovered his fingers. Ten and Johnny thank the lord above for that, because it tends to distract the infant enough to get him to stop crying for at least half an hour. Donghyuck is still clingy, and Ten can’t help but watch his son lovingly while he breastfeeds, because he has the funniest mannerisms with the way it always seems like he tries to climb back into his mother’s body when snuggling. Donghyuck smiles and laughs brightly, and for that, Johnny calls him his little sun, but also because the baby’s beautiful skin is sunkissed and tan, and his tiny freckles stand out on his nose and cheeks.

Jeno and Jaemin adore the tiny baby, and whenever he comes over, they always get excited to be around their friend. The first time Donghyuck came over, they accidently scared him, and the infant cried a little bit, but stopped when Jaemin offered him Jeno’s favorite stuffed animal.

Ten talks to Taeyong about his depression, and he assures the younger that he is a good mother, and that he’s so good with Donghyuck. The conversations end in tears from Ten, but Taeyong is a good friend, and he will never let Ten suffer alone.

**3 Months**

Ten is shaken awake by a panicked Tayong.

“I think Donghyuck is having a seizure,” he whispers, his eyes wide and nervous.

Ten jumps out of bed and Taeyong leads him to where Donghyuck is laying on Taeyong’s bed.

The baby’s right arm is twitching like crazy, and his fingers are shaking. 

Ten freaks out, but doesn’t touch his son, opting to leave him be, but stay close, in case he needs to do anything for him. He watches with bated breath as Donghyuck finishes shaking and begins crying when he sees his mother standing there, Taeyong just over his shoulder.

“Can you call Johnny?” Ten whispers as he scoops up his tiny baby in his arms. 

“Of course.” Taeyong walks out of the room to grab his phone and reassure his kids.

Johnny gets to the house as fast as he can, and Taeyong offers to drive them to the hospital. Ten agrees, and Johnny helps Taeyong pack Jeno and Jaemin into the car.

Taeyong wishes them luck when they get there, and they promise to call him later with the prognosis.

Donghyuck is fast asleep - now they’re concerned - when they get there, and he stays asleep until the doctor comes into the room to check on him.

Ten explains what he saw happen on Taeyong’s bed, and the doctor chalks it up to a simple response.

“Infantile spasms.”

“What in the world…” Johnny begins before the doctor cuts him off.

“It’s a rare seizure disorder that occurs in infants under one year of age. It’ll go away as he gets older, it’s nothing to worry about now.”

“He’s having  _ seizures _ , doctor. We’re going to worry no matter what you tell us.” Ten says, tightening his grip on the sleeping baby in his arms. “And if this was bad enough to knock him out for this long when he can’t even sleep for three hours straight, it’s bad.”

The doctor opens his mouth to say something, but Ten cuts him off again.

“I am his mother, sir. I carried him for nine months, and I pushed him out of my body, and I am the one who cries with him when he can’t sleep. I know him better than anyone. He is my son.”

Johnny places his hand on Ten’s thigh and squeezes it gently. He’s proud of his husband for standing up for himself and their baby like that, like a good mother would no matter the circumstances. Johnny knows Ten is scared - he is too. No parents want to hear that their three month old baby is having seizures.

Ten huffs and gets to his feet. “Please give me a call when you and your staff decide to tell us  _ exactly _ what is wrong with our child. Have a good day.” He reaches behind to grab Johnny’s hand, and together, their small family leaves the hospital.

**4 Months**

The doctors are finally able to figure out what’s wrong with Donghyuck.

“Innsomnia.” They say.

“Well yeah,” Johnny says, frustrated. “We know that. He's had that since he was born. You also told us about a month ago that his seizures would get better, but they haven’t. What is going on with Donghyuck?”

The doctor sighs and takes his glasses off to look Ten and Johnny in the eyes. “Your son has a rare case of early onset Parkinson’s disease. I’ve never seen it in someone so young, but everything we’ve examined him for leads to the unmistakable symptoms. That’s what is causing the innsomnia he’s been experiencing. And the seizures aren’t really seizures, per say. They’re tremors that are part of the disease’s characteristics. He’ll probably never grow out of them, and he’ll most likely have them for the rest of his life. I’m so sorry.”

A silence falls upon the room.

Taeyong had agreed to watch Donghyuck while his parents went to the appointment, so it was just Johnny, Ten, and the doctor.

“Is it curable?” Ten asks quietly.

The doctor shakes his head. “There is no cure, but there are ways to manage it. The innsomnia will eventually cure itself. Have you noticed any changes there?”

“He sleeps a little longer than he did before, but he still cries a lot. He's getting about four to six hours of sleep a day, but that's still not enough for a baby.”

The doctor gives the couple some tips on helping their baby fall asleep and stay asleep longer.

“Are you okay?” Johnny asks his husband as they walk out of the hospital with linked hands.

Ten sighs, resting his head on Johnny's shoulder. “Donghyuckie will have a hard time for the rest of his life.”

“He has you, Tennie. You're his mother, and you're all he needs. He has me. I'm his father, and I'm all he needs. He has Taeyong and Jaehyun and Jeno and Jaemin. They're family. They're all he needs. Donghyuck will be alright, Ten. We just need to adjust.”

Ten smiles gratefully and squeezes Johnny's hand. “He'll be okay.”

“He'll be okay.”

“We'll be okay.”

“We'll be okay.”

**5 Months**

Donghyuck sleeps during the day now. His tremors get worse, and sometimes they tire him out so much he'll sleep all day long and cry all night.

It's become a sort of dance. Johnny and Ten never know what their baby's schedule is going to be for the day, and it often leaves them scrambling when making plans.

Donghyuck's tremors make it hard to breastfeed sometimes, because his uncontrollable shaking causes him to bite unconsciously, and Ten's had his nipples bleed on occasion, due to the severity of Donghyuck’s bites.

“His teeth aren’t even in yet, but his jaw is strong,” Ten whines one evening after he’s managed to put Donghyuck to sleep after the infant had sucked both of his breasts dry. Johnny hums in understanding as he gently rubs some ointment onto his husband’s swollen nipples. They were dry and cracked, and Ten kept complaining of them hurting, and insisting that his husband was the only one able to cure the pain.

Johnny finishes and gives a soft kiss to Ten’s tummy, to the tiny bit of baby fat his body has retained from having Donghyuck. He thinks it’s cute, so he gives the small pudge a pinch and kisses it again. Ten whines, looking down to his husband, self-conscious.

“You’re a perfect mother.” Johnny whispers, coming up and pressing a loving kiss to Ten’s soft lips.

Ten smiles into the kiss and wraps his arms around Johnny’s neck.

The next morning - Donghyuck managed to sleep through the night, for only the third time ever, and if Donghyuck sleeps, Ten sleeps, and if Ten sleeps, Johnny sleeps - Ten puts on some music while Johnny makes breakfast. Ten clutches his small, sleepy son to his chest as he waltzes across the kitchen, his steps light and rhythmic.

Johnny watches his husband silently, as Donghyuck tucks his face into the crook of Ten’s neck, and the Thai man rests his head atop their son’s ever so gently, his eyes closed. They look so peaceful, and Johnny’s heart bunches up in his chest at the sweet sight.

Before he got pregnant, Ten used to dance like crazy. It was his job - he was a part time dance instructor, and a part time performer - and that was how he and Johnny met. Ten was the main dancer in a ballet Johnny’s young cousin was also in, but instead of focusing on his cousin like he had come to do, his poor little gay heart kept wandering back to stare at the beautiful black-haired boy as he floated across the stage like water. After the show, when Johnny’s family went backstage to congratulate his cousin, Johnny couldn’t stop looking for the star of the show. After giving his cousin a quick hug, he quickly left to find that mesmerising dancer.

Johnny quickly found him, surrounded by several other fans. Another the dancer had shooed everyone else away, and Johnny quickly approached him.

“Hi,” he said shyly.

The dancer looked up, and the corner of his mouth quirked up in a smile. “Hi.”

“Uh, my name is Johnny.” He said awkwardly. “I really, really liked your dancing. You’re really beautiful out there.” Johnny bit his lip, embarrassed at what just came from his mouth.

The dancer blushed and looked down, hiding his own shy smile. “Thanks.”

Johnny took a deep breath, mortified. “Well, I’m sorry to bother you, I should probably leave.” He started to walk away, but a voice stopped him.

“Wait!” The dancer flung an arm out, grasping Johnny’s wrist. “Uh,” he said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck as he dropped his other arm. “H-here’s my number.” The dancer held out a slip of paper with his name and a flurry of numbers written on it. “My name’s Ten,” he said, smiling the brightest smile Johnny had ever seen.

Johnny smiled back. “I'll text you when I get home, Ten.”

Little did either of them know that that first meeting would blossom into a beautiful relationship, a blissful marriage, and a rocky start of parenthood.

Ten opens his eyes and catches Johnny staring. He smiles brilliantly, all the love he holds for the older shining in his eyes.

And even though having a child of their own is extremely difficult, and even though their child is chronically ill, neither Johnny nor Ten could ever imagine doing it with anyone else.

**6 Months**

Johnny is sitting on the floor, on a play blanket with Donghyuck, clapping and playing with his baby as he babbles and coos on. Donghyuck picks up a rattle next to Johnny and wiggles it, laughing with the sound it makes. Johnny laughs along with his son, because he’s just so gosh darn adorable. The other arm that isn’t playing with the rattle is waving in the air, but his hand and fingers are shaking.

Donghyuck’s tremors have evened out to a normalcy, and Johnny and Ten have finally learned how to treat them and help their baby through them when they get bad. The infant has finally started to sleep through most of the night, which means Ten gets more sleep, and his postpartum depression is beginning to go away.

Their small family has become accustomed to illness, because Donghyuck’s immune system is still weak as a baby, but also because of his disease. If it’s anyone who’s sick in their home, it’s usually him.

But this time, it’s not.

Ten started running a fever the evening before, and he woke up in the middle of the night having delirious night terrors.

Ten has never been one to get sick easily, but when he does get sick, it gets pretty bad. The last time Ten was notably sick was before he got pregnant, but Johnny had to drive him to the emergency room, where they kept him overnight for observation.

That, and the terrible appendicitis he went through during Donghyuck’s pregnancy.

Johnny really doesn’t want to deal with that, especially now that they have a baby who gets sick easily, but he has Taeyong on call, just in case he needs to drop off their son at his and Jaehyun’s home. So, in order to prevent that, Johnny is spending precious time with his son to keep him away from the sick Ten.

Donghyuck is starting to twitch more, and soon his arm that’s holding the rattle is too, and it makes a loud noise. The baby starts to whimper, not sure what is happening to himself, and a little bit scared of the noise the rattle makes. Johnny coos and gently pries the toy from his son’s tiny fingers, replacing the toy with his own fingers. Donghyuck instantly calms down, giggling again when Johnny wiggles his fingers.

Johnny's phone rings on the sofa, but he's found himself in a bit of a predicament: Donghyuck has now taken to sucking on the fingers of Johnny's dominant hand, and he's in a weird position far from his phone. Johnny huffs and stretches for his phone. Unlike his husband, Johnny is not tiny, nor is he a flexible dancer - he is actually a horrible dancer, if he's being compared to Ten - so this is quite difficult for him.

It takes him a few seconds, but he grabs his phone without jostling the baby too much.

He answers the phone just as the last ring sounds.

“What's wrong?”

“I feel worse and I just threw up.” Ten says quietly. His voice sounds tired, like he's just woken up.

“Oh honey,” Johnny sympathises. “Do you need me?”

“I know you're looking after Hyuckie, but some cuddles would be nice right now.”

Johnny ponders that statement for a moment.

“Can I put him in the playpen and leave the door open while I cuddle you?”

Ten agrees and they end the call, Johnny gets up, taking Donghyuck with him as he grabs the playpen and a few toys. He sets it up just outside his and Ten's room, and places the squirmy baby inside. Johnny starts Donghyuck up with playing with the toys a little bit, and soon, the baby is distracted enough to not notice when Johnny leaves his side to enter his room.

Inside, Ten is curled up in bed, his face flushed and his eyes watery. He whines and makes grabby hands at Johnny.

Johnny smiles - his husband is so cute, even when he’s sick - and climbs into bed with the smaller man, pulling him into his strong arms. He brushes Ten’s hair back from his forehead and kisses the heated skin there.

“How are you feeling, babe?”

Ten makes a tired noise in the back of his throat and buries his face into Johnny’s neck.

“Everything hurts and I feel dirty and gross.”

“I’m sorry, honey.” Johnny rubs his hand up and down Ten’s back in a comforting motion.

Ten sighs and snuggles closer to Johnny, not unlike Donghyuck does when he’s nursing. Ten’s not seen his son all day, and even though he can hear him from outside the door, he misses the tiny baby.

“How’s Hyuckie been all day?” He asks, voice muffled by Johnny’s built chest.

Johnny smiles. “He’s great. Just before you called, he freaked out a little bit over a small tremor, but it went away fast and I was able to distract him from crying. And then he decided it would be a good idea to chew my fingers.”

“He can’t chew, my love.” Ten smirks, but a warm feeling explodes in his heart. “He’s probably starting to teeth.”

“Oh great, just as he’s finally starting to sleep well.”

Ten groans, realizing that now, Donghyuck will cry from the pain of teething along with tremors and not being able to sleep well.

“I’m going to go absolutely crazy,” he whines.

“And he’ll probably start to bite more while he’s nursing.” Johnny muses absentmindedly.

Ten gags and jumps out of the bed to the bathroom, throwing up in the toilet while simultaneously giving a laughing Johnny a middle finger.

**7 Months**

“Shit!” Ten mutters under his breath, trying to untangle his legs from the crochet blanket underneath him. He can’t get up fast enough, and he falls on the floor, and soon, he can’t see where Donghyuck has gone anymore.

“Johnny!” He yells, rolling on the floor. “Watch the baby, please!”

A clatter is heard from the kitchen, where Johnny is making lunch, and Ten can hear the elder curse under his breath.

“Where is he?”

Ten groans, still trying to get out of the mess he’s gotten himself into. “He just crawled off, and I’m tangled in the blankets, and I can’t see him anymore.”

Ten hears movement in the kitchen and then the dining room, chairs being scooted all over the place and cupboards being flung open.

“Hyuckie!” Johnny trills, searching for the baby who’s just crawled off. “Hyuckie, where are you?”

“Pretend it’s a game of hide-and-seek, then he’ll want to play.” Ten directs. He’s almost out of the confines of the blanket, and when he finally frees himself, he throws the blanket back to the sofa in disgust and races to find Johnny and Donghyuck.

He finds his Korean-American husband in the baby’s room, looking behind the rocking chair.

“He couldn’t have gone this far, he’s not  _ that  _ fast,” Ten says, glancing around the room.

“Yeah, but I haven’t found him anywhere else.” Johnny leaves the room, calling for their son again and heading to the living room, where Ten just was.

Ten walks up the hall in the opposite direction, calling for the baby as well. As he walks past the bathroom, he can hear faint babbling, and he does a double take, pushing the door fully open.

“What are you doing in here?” He coos.

Donghyuck is sitting in a pile of toilet paper, and he’s happily pawing at the roll, unraveling it quickly. He’s also got a few pieces stuck to his cheeks and lips, proof that he's been eating some. He giggles happily, his smile bright as the sun as Johnny appears behind Ten.

“There you are!" Johnny says, placing his hands on Ten's tiny hips as he looks down to Donghyuck.

Ten laughs at their adorable baby as he squeals and flaps his arms in the wads of toilet paper surrounding him. In turn, Donghyuck laughs back, his giggles rising in pitch to tiny screams. He flaps his arms around in excitement and reaches to shove more toilet paper in his mouth.

“Oh, honey,” Ten says, lurching forward to grab his child before he can eat more toilet paper. “That’s not for eating!” He picks up Donghyuck and bounces the baby on his hip.

Donghyuck pouts a little bit, but he reaches his arms out to Johnny and whines.

“Do you want to go with daddy?” Ten asks, holding the baby out so his husband can grab him.

Donghyuck makes happy noises as soon as he’s in his father’s arms, and Johnny is equally as happy.

“Should we go finish making lunch, Haechan-ah?” Johnny asks, using his own nickname for Donghyuck - Haechan, which means full sun, and Johnny thinks Donghyuck outshines the sun on any given day. Ten thinks Donghyuck is just like the sun, but he doesn’t use Haechan for his baby as often as Johnny does, opting more for ‘my little sun’, or ‘my sunshine’. But really, both parents think the sun must live under their baby’s skin, because there’s simply no other explanation for his brightness and happiness - not to mention his beautiful skin color.

They all walk back to the kitchen, where Johnny has some Chinese congee in a saucepan on the stove, and a sandwich and a half on the counter. The area is slightly messy, because of his rush to find Donghyuck when he had crawled away.

Ten places Donghyuck in his highchair with some toys to occupy the baby while he grabs some strawberries to cut up for him and his husband. When Ten goes to get some whipped cream for them to have with the strawberries, he dots a little bit on the end of Donghyuck’s tiny nose and laughs as he goes cross eyed to figure out what just happened.

Johnny turns around and joins his husband in laughter as they watch their adorable baby boy try to wipe the whipped cream off his nose.

For the first time in seven months, Johnny and Ten feel like they can finally relax a little bit. Donghyuck’s insomnia has mostly stopped, and he sleeps all the way through the night now, only occasionally waking up. His tremors are still there, but they haven’t changed all too much. He’s learned to crawl, and despite the disease, he’s pretty fast - Johnny and Ten find themselves losing him all the time, and when they’re over at Taeyong and Jaehyun’s place, they lose him there, too.

They’re just glad that he hasn’t yet learned how to go up the stairs at Taeyong and Jaehyun’s house.

Taeyong and Jaehyun are the best friends in the world, and every chance they get, they offer to help Johnny and Ten with the baby or anything else they can. The two families get together all the time for playdates between the twins and Donghyuck, and the kids love eachother very much.

Ten’s postpartum depression has gone away for the most part, but he’ll still sometimes feel like he’s a bad mother, and he’ll get upset. Those are the days Johnny takes off from work and spends with Ten and their baby, and he makes sure to give Ten all the cuddles and kisses in the world, telling him how good of a mother and husband he is.

And seven months after Donghyuck’s birth, things are finally starting to look up for Johnny and Ten’s small family.

**8 Months**

“Johnny, what are we going to do?” Ten asks in a small, scared voice.

Johnny is sitting on the edge of their bed, bouncing a slobbering Donghyuck on his knee.

“I have no idea, honey.” Johnny says quietly, watching as his husband gets up from the floor of the bathroom.

Ten sighs as he places the positive pregnancy test on the edge of the sink and comes into the room to join his husband on the bed.

“We’ll have a newborn and a 17 month-old at the same time.” Ten points out, letting Donghyuck grab his finger with a wet hand.

Johnny gets up and moves Donghyuck’s playpen over, placing the baby inside with his toys. He turns around and takes his husband’s hands in his.

“Do you not want it?”

“No!” Ten exclaims. “I mean yes! I mean-” he sighs, looking down to the bed. His fingers twist with Johnny’s and he squeezes the elder’s hand. “I do want to have the baby, but this was completely unplanned, and we’re not ready to have another baby yet. Hyuckie’s sick, and he needs all our time and efforts, and I’m afraid that if we have another baby, we’ll accidently neglect it or something because we’re so focused on Donghyuck’s health. And what if this baby gets sick too? How are we going to deal with two sick babies? And what if it’s something worse than Parkinson’s? What if we accidentally neglect Donghyuck because this new baby has a more critical disease than him? I’m already a horrible mother, I don’t think I can handle another baby, Johnny, I’ll just be an even worse mother for both of them.” The tears in Ten’s eyes spill over and fall down his cheeks. “I’m terrified, Youngho.”

Ten hasn’t called Johnny by his Korean name in months.

Johnny reaches up and uses his thumbs to wipe away the tears on his husband’s face. “I know you’re scared, baby. I am too. But you need to know that you are not a bad mother, Ten. I’ve told you this so many times, and you need to believe me, love. I know it’s been hard ever since Hyuck was born, I know it’s taken a huge toll on you and your health too. But you love him with all your heart, and I’m one hundred percent positive that you will love this baby just as much. We’re not ready, you’re right - we’re not ready at all for a new baby. But you know what Ten? It doesn’t matter if it’s sick, healthy, a girl, or a boy, it’s going to have the best mother and father in the world to love it, and that’s all it’ll need.” Johnny smiles sincerely, pulling his husband into a hug. “I love you more than anything in the world, Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul. I love Donghyuck more than anything in the world. And I love this baby more than anything in the world.” He whispers, placing his palm on Ten’s tummy and kissing his forehead.

Ten sobs and hides his face in the crook of Johnny’s neck, wrapping his arms around the elder’s waist to pull him impossibly close.

Johnny rests his head on Ten’s and closes his eyes, rubbing the younger’s back in circles to calm him down. He kisses his husband’s neck softly and whispers sweet nothings in his ear, just holding and rocking him as he cries all his worries out onto Johnny’s chest.

Eventually, Ten sits up, rubbing his red and puffy eyes cutely.

“Good?” Johnny smiles.

Ten nods, smiling back. He launches himself back into Johnny’s arms for a quick hug and a kiss. “Thank you. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Beneath them, a short scream sounds as Donghyuck throws a toy across the room. He looks up at his parents and laughs as he lifts his arms up to be held.

“Oh, my sweet baby boy,” Ten coos, lifting Donghyuck into his arms. He plants a big kiss on the baby’s squishy cheek, much to the latter’s delight. “I love you so much.”

A few weeks later, when Taeyong, Jaehyun, Jeno, and Jaemin come over for dinner, they have an announcement for Johnny and Ten.

“Taeyong’s pregnant again!” Jaehyun says excitedly, spoiling the fun for his husband.

Johnny and Ten gape at them, then at each other.

“Ten’s pregnant again!” Johnny splutters.

Now it’s time for Taeyong and Jaehyun to gape. “No way!”

**9 Months**

Donghyuck has a fever.

Ten has morning sickness.

Johnny is stressed.

Right now, Donghyuck’s temperature is 102.3, which is way higher than it should be for a nine month old. Ten checked it when the baby woke up, and now they’re in the hospital, because Donghyuck is having a hard time breathing, and he hasn’t stopped crying in a few days. His tremors are really bad right now, and it’s making everything harder to deal with, so he’s in the NICU.

Ten wants to be there for his baby, but he’s constantly sick to his stomach, so he’s pretty much glued to the toilet, throwing up nothing but clear bile and stomach fluids into the bowl. This was something Ten had been dreading about this second pregnancy - morning sickness. With Donghyuck, Ten’s morning sickness lasted for several months, and ended in an appendectomy. He doesn’t want that this time, because now he has a sick baby to deal with, and he needs to be there for him. But Ten is stuck in the bathroom, dry heaving because his stomach has nothing left in it to throw up.

Taeyong and Jaehyun visited earlier, and watched Donghyuck for a little bit while Johnny went to check on Ten and get something to eat.

Ten might be slightly envious of Taeyong, because the elder is just so graceful when he carries, and he never has morning sickness. Even when he was pregnant with the twins, Ten remembers the hardest part of Taeyong’s pregnancy was actually finding out they were having twins and trying to figure out how to deal with that. He tries not to let it get to his head, but when Ten finds out that while he’s been puking his guts out in a private bathroom close to the NICU ward, and Taeyong’s been watching his baby for him, Ten explodes in a flurry of emotions and hormones.

“Baby, you’ve been throwing up for hours, and I’m worried about you.” Johnny says, trying to calm down an angry Ten. “And Donghyuck can’t be left alone, so when they showed up and offered to help, I couldn’t say no. I have to take care of you too, you know.”

Ten gags again and throws himself out of Johnny’s arms and over the toilet. Nothing comes up but spit.

Johnny sighs, feeling bad for his husband. “Do you think you handle something to eat?”

Ten huffs, wiping his mouth. “I can’t even keep the fucking spit down, how do you expect me to keep food down?!”

“Hey.” Johnny grabs Ten’s wrist and holds it tight. “Stop it. You can’t be angry at Taeyong and Jaehyun. They love Donghyuck as much as they love their own sons, and they want the best for him. They’re here to help because they know that you're sick too, and they wanted to give me a break to help you without me having to find some random nurse to stay with Donghyuck. And he knows them too, so he won’t freak out if he wakes up and sees them.”

“I just-” Ten melts, starting to cry. “I just  _ hate  _ morning sickness so much. And I want so badly to go and hold my sick baby and smother him in kisses and cuddles and I want to be there when the doctor comes in to check on him and I want to be there like a good mother should be, but here I am, throwing up absolutely nothing.”

“You’re throwing up because your body is getting used to accommodating another baby. Honey, I understand why you feel the way you do, but I think you should take a few minutes and calm down. Taeyong’s anxious to see you.” Johnny says, squeezing Ten’s hand.

“Can you stay with me?” Ten asks in a small voice.

“Always.” Johnny smiles reassuringly.

About an hour later, Ten is finally able to stomach water and ramen broth, so he and Johnny head back up to where their baby is being safely watched over by Taeyong and Jaehyun.

“Oh, Ten, how are you feeling?” Taeyong asks, jumping up from his seat as soon as he sees the younger come in through the door. He flits his hands around, concerned.

Ten pulls him into a hug. “Thank you so much, Taeyong-hyung. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Taeyong hugs Ten back, huffing a relieved sigh in the crook of his neck. “You’d be absolutely lost, that’s what.” He laughs.

Ten laughs back and holds out a bag. “We brought you guys some food, so you can stay if you’d like.”

Jaehyun takes the bag, grateful. “I’m starving,” he mumbles, opening a container and immediately eating.

Johnny grins and joins him, never minding that he just ate with Ten.

Taeyong and Ten laugh at their husbands and join them as well.

The doctor comes in later, and tells them that Donghyuck is okay, and he can probably be released by the evening. Johnny and Ten ask if Taeyong and Jaehyun want to leave so they can get back to their own children - who are staying with their grandparents - but they refuse, opting to stay with Johnny and Ten until they get home safely with Donghyuck.

Taeyong and Jaehyun are the best friends Johnny and Ten could ask for.

**10 Months**

Ten is up in the middle of the night, nursing a restless Donghyuck in the rocking chair in the corner of the nursery. He cried for a few hours, and after a while of attempting the self-soothing method of sleeping, Ten finally broke and went to get Donghyuck to help comfort him.

He was having a pretty bad tremor, and he couldn’t figure out what was happening to himself, so he cried and cried until Ten picked him up.

For some reason, Johnny hasn’t been sleeping well lately, so Ten insists that he stay in bed to catch up on some much needed sleep.

So Ten is up alone, quietly humming to his baby as he suckles at his mother’s breast. The slow rocking movements of the chair are also helping to calm Ten down too, because he’s been on edge ever since Donghyuck started crying. He gently traces the tiny features of Donghyuck’s face, strokes his wispy black curls and his soft skin. Donghyuck is such a beautiful baby, and it amazes Ten how his and Johnny’s child looks so strikingly Korean, even though he’s only a quarter. Donghyuck’s eyes are the only part of him that looks Thai, but he’s half Thai, so you would think he’d look more. But he doesn’t have too many features that look especially American, like his last quarter is.

Ten can only hope the new baby shares Donghyuck’s gorgeous looks, but maybe just a little more Thai-looking.

Finally, Donghyuck has calmed down enough for Ten to put him back to bed. Just as Ten is getting ready to head back to bed himself, his phone rings.

“Who in the world is calling me at this time of night?” Ten murmurs, glancing at the clock on the living room wall that points to 1:17. He answers the call without looking at the caller ID. “Hello?” he mumbles, sleepy.

“Tennie, I need help,” a small, scared voice comes over the line.

“Taeyong? What’s wrong?”

“My stomach is cramping a lot and I’m bleeding and I can’t stop it. I don’t want to wake up Jaehyun because he’s going to freak out.” Taeyong’s voice wavers. “Ten, I think I’m having a miscarriage.”

Ten can’t breathe.

“No, you can’t be,” he whispers. He shakes his head and collapses onto his sofa, holding his own stomach.

Taeyong chokes on the other end of the line. He’s sobbing.

“Tennie I don’t know what to do,” he whimpers. “It hurts so bad.”

“Do you want me to come over?” Ten asks.

Taeyong says yes, and Ten immediately jumps into action. “You have to wake up Jaehyun first, though, Taeyong. You need to tell him.”

Taeyong sniffles. “Okay.”

Ten reassures him that he’ll be there as soon as he can, and he hangs up, going to tell Johnny.

“Baby,” he whispers, feeling bad for waking up Johnny again. “Baby, wake up.”

Johnny stirs and sits up, alarmed. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Taeyong.” Ten sighs sadly. “He thinks he’s having a miscarriage, and he asked if I could come over.”

Johnny gasps, sadness instantly filling his eyes. “Of course! He needs you and Jae. I’ll stay and watch Hyuck.”

“Thanks,” Ten breathes, placing a kiss to Johnny’s forehead. “I’ll keep you updated.”

And then he’s out the door, throwing a light jacket over his shoulders and running to the car.

He arrives at Taeyong and Jaehyun’s home and lets himself in with the spare key they gave him so many years ago. He can hear faint crying and he walks toward it. The couple is in their bathroom, and Taeyong is the one crying. He’s sitting on the toilet, holding Jaehyun’s hands as the younger stands in between his legs, shushing him.

Ten gently knocks on the doorframe and comes in a little more.

Jaehyun turns and sees Ten, acknowledging him with a head nod. He comes in to give Jaehyun a side hug.

“It’s not good.” Is all Jaehyun says. His eyes are watering and his voice is so, so sad.

Taeyong looks up and sobs louder when he sees Ten there. “You came,”

“Of course I came, Tae. I love you guys, and I want to help.”

Taeyong drops his head and cries harder, his shoulders trembling. “Tennie,” he wails. He looks up, his face a mess, and drops one of his husband’s hands, reaching out to his best friend. Ten takes his hand and moves even closer, putting his arm around Jaehyun’s waist.

Jaehyun smiles sadly, but moves out of Ten’s embrace, turning toward the bathroom counter and picking up something that was resting there. He turns back to show it to Ten and immediately, Ten can see what it is.

On the wad of paper towels are tons of bright red blood clots, but amidst them is a tiny figure, with ten perfectly formed fingers and toes, and a perfectly formed face. Taeyong and Jaehyun’s miscarried baby.

Ten pieces together that Taeyong is still passing blood clots, from the way he can hear tiny splashes against the toilet bowl. The elder squeezes Ten’s hand tightly, sobbing again, both in pain and grief. Jaehyun gently lays the paper towels back on the counter and allows Ten to hug him back. All three of them are crying by now, just holding each other up by hugs.

After a while, Taeyong’s run out of tears left to cry, and he’s just staring blankly at the wall. He’s finished passing all the clots, but now blood is just pouring out of him at an abnormal rate. Jaehyun and Ten are running around, packing bags and gathering towels so they can take Taeyong to the hospital, because he’s gone weak with the amount of blood he’s lost. After everything’s ready to go, Jaehyun stops Ten.

“Can you please take Jeno and Jaemin for us?”

Ten freezes for a moment. He’d forgotten for a while that the twins were so excited for a new baby brother or sister. Now, they’d have to hear that they wouldn’t be able to be big brothers.

“Of course.” Ten agrees.

“Just for a few nights, is that okay? Just until Taeyong can handle it again.”

Ten nods. Jaehyun asks him if it’s okay if he and Taeyong go ahead and go to the hospital, so the kids don’t have to know yet, and Ten stay behind to get them ready then go back to his own house.

“That’s absolutely fine. And I won’t tell them anything yet, okay?”

“Thank you,” Jaehyun breathes.

Ten stays with Taeyong while Jaehyun packs up their tiny, tiny baby to show the doctors. Taeyong’s starting to get loopy from the blood loss, so Ten helps him stand and wraps a few towels around his waist and between his legs. Soon Jaehyun is there, and the both of them help Taeyong out to the car. Ten runs inside to grab their bags while Jaehyun helps settle Taeyong.

“Thank you so much, Ten.” Jaehyun whispers, giving him a tight hug.

“It’s no problem. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to give me or Johnny a call. I’ll tell him, is that okay?”

Jaehyun nods. “But please don’t tell anyone else.”

“I won’t. Keep me updated, alright? I love you guys.” Ten says as he moves to the other side of the car to place a kiss to Taeyong’s forehead. “I love you, Taeyongie.”

And with that, they’re off, and Ten heads back inside to give Johnny a call and pack up the twins for a few days.

It’s going to be a long week, Ten knows, with both the twins and Donghyuck to care for, but he’ll do anything for Taeyong and Jaehyun.

**11 Months**

Donghyuck is babbling along with Jeno and Jaemin, while the two older boys have a conversation of their own. Even though they’re only two years old, it’s still a conversation, so it’s a two year old conversation - they’re talking in their high pitched two year old voices, lacing nonsense two year old twin lingo into the conversation. The baby is sitting between them, babbling mindlessly as he waves a stuffed duck in the air. Jeno and Jaemin are talking about their favorite animals (although they say it, ‘amnimals’), and they have their plushies to show Donghyuck what the ‘amnimals’ look like. Jeno’s favorite is a lion, Jaemin’s favorite is a giraffe, and their little friend has taken a liking to the duck.

Ten watches the little ones, smiling softly at their interactions. He’s babysitting at Taeyong and Jaehyun’s place while they see a grief counselor. Johnny’s at work, so it’s just Ten and the kids. He’s so glad they have each other, especially after what happened in Jeno and Jaemin’s family last month.

The young twins hadn’t taken the news well, and they couldn’t quite comprehend it. They hadn’t really understood exactly what was in store when Taeyong and Jaehyun told them that mommy was pregnant, but they knew that the end resulted in a new baby sister or brother, just like Donghyuck. To say the least, they were broken-hearted to learn that there would no longer be a baby brother or sister.

Taeyong and Jaehyun are doing okay, considering, but not great. Taeyong still calls Ten in tears asking what his own baby feels like in his stomach. It hurts Ten to tell, but he knows that Taeyong is devastated, and he means well. He misses his baby.

So Ten will lay in bed, tears streaming down his face as he recounts his own child’s activity to Taeyong, while the elder sniffles and sobs on the other end of the line.

Johnny understands, and he and Jaehyun get together to talk about it often. Jaehyun isn’t as emotional as his husband, but he took the loss hard too, and he and Taeyong depend on each other and Johnny and Ten to make it through.

Donghyuck screams loudly, pulling Ten from his thoughts. He moves from his spot from the corner of the sofa and leans down to watch the twins and Donghyuck more carefully.

The baby is fine, he’s just excited over a toy the twins gave him.

Ten is a bit on edge, because he and Johnny were just in the hospital a few days before for Donghyuck. They had woken up at five in the morning, hearing Donghyuck crying. They laid there, waiting for him to fade off, but instead, his cries were cut off abruptly, replaced with silence. Johnny and Ten looked at each other, worried, and raced to their baby’s room only to see the tiny boy shaking and trembling uncontrollably, not at all like any of his Parkinson's tremors.

“Johnny what's happening?" Ten whispered in fear, his hands hovering over his tiny child.

“That's a seizure," his husband breathed. “Like, an actual one.”

Donghyuck’s tiny fists were clenched tightly, and his eyes were rolled back so far they could only see the whites of his eyes. Frothy saliva oozed out of his mouth, and the rest of his limbs were stiff, but shaking at the same time. The same small gasping noise came out of the baby’s mouth over and over again as he tried to breathe.

Ten had tears rapidly streaming down his face, and his own hands trembled, aching to do something for his son. After a few seconds, he suppressed a sob and turned into Johnny’s broad chest, wrapping his arms around the elder tightly. Johnny sniffled and stroked Ten’s hair lightly, waiting for the terrifying ordeal to finish.

“Tennie, it’s over,” Johnny whispered, wiping his own tears as Donghyuck slowly stopped shaking.

Ten whipped around. Suddenly, the silence was pierced with a cry and a scream. Donghyuck began wailing, different than he ever had before. But Johnny and Ten had never been so happy to hear their son’s crying again.

They took him to the hospital, where the doctors hooked the baby up to oxygen and phenobarbital, but couldn’t do very much. They chalked it up to an overreaction in his brain due to the Parkinson’s. Johnny and Ten didn’t fight the doctors on this one, because they knew how and why that could happen.

Donghyuck smiles up at Ten, his bright pink gums showing with the crowns of little white teeth poking out. Instantly, Ten is pulled from his thoughts again, and he gazes down at his beautiful little boy. Said beautiful little boy extends his arm and places a stuffed monkey in Ten’s lap, followed by a stuffed unicorn, and a stuffed whale.

“Thanks, my little sunshine,” he says, watching Donghyuck turn around and lift another armful of plushies into his lap.

Jeno and Jaemin watch Donghyuck and follow him, getting all their stuffed animals and dumping them in Ten’s lap.

Jeno pulls the blanket over Ten as he lays down, while Jaemin and Donghyuck carefully rearrange their toys all over the blanketed man. The three of them then place pillows around Ten, making sure to prop his head up, and then they jump into the piled, snuggling closer to Ten’s warmth. Ten giggles at his three (soon to be four) favorite kids in the world.

Jeno, Jaemin and Donghyuck - well, the youngest is mostly watching and throwing plushies - are in the middle of ‘tucking in’ Ten along with all the plushies when they hear the front door unlocking.

Everyone freezes - except Donghyuck - and watches as the door opens and Jaehyun and Taeyong walk in.

“Mama!” Jeno screeches, running as fast as he can to Taeyong.

Jaemin runs to Jaehyun, screaming, “Appa!”

Donghyuck hears the excitement and he bounces on his bottom, flapping his arms and squealing happily.

Ten grins and gets up, shaking off all the stuffed animals and folding the blanket, putting it back on the armrest of the sofa. He looks up just as Taeyong walks in with his twins glued to his legs.

“Thank you so much, Tennie,” he says, smiling. 

Taeyong looks happier than he’s looked in weeks, and Ten is glad. Taeyong’s eyes are sparkling, not with tears, but with love and happiness.

“You’re so welcome. Anytime you need us, don’t hesitate to give us a call.” Ten says, grabbing Donghyuck’s wrist before the baby can put one of Jeno and Jaemin’s building blocks in his mouth.

Taeyong collapses on the sofa at the same time the twins let go of him, going to play with their little friend some more. Jaehyun walks in and Taeyong beckons him to come sit down next to him. He then pats the other space next to him for Ten to sit down again.

“Tell Johnny to come over after work. We can have dinner together.” Taeyong offers, wrapping an arm around Jaehyun’s shoulders.

Ten smiles. “That’s kind of you, but we need to get Donghyuck into bed as soon as possible. Thanks, though, guys. Really, Johnny would be so happy.”

“How is he? I never asked what happened.” Taeyong asks, his face showing concern as he looks down at the tiny baby playing with the twins.

“He’s doing okay. He’s been fine, mostly.” Ten wrings his fingers nervously. “He had a seizure the other night, and it was terrifying. We took him to the hospital and they said it was just another Parkinson’s symptom, but they couldn’t do much for him.”

Jaehyun gasps. “But doesn’t he just have tremors with the Parkinson’s?”

“Yes, but I guess if it builds up for too long without a tremor, the patient can have a seizure. We hadn’t seen him having any tremors for a few days and we were a little relieved, but also nervous.”

Taeyong nods, understanding. “So do one of you have to sleep with him now?”

“With him in the room.” Ten sighs. “That’s why we’re trying to get him to sleep a little bit earlier, so Johnny and I can have some time with each other while still watching the baby.”

The conversation lulls for a moment before Ten starts again.

“How did the appointment go?”

Taeyong and Jaehyun look at each other before answering.

“It went well,” Jaehyun says. “The therapist gave us a lot of ways to help deal with grief. Honestly, I think we both just feel really relieved.”

Taeyong looks down. “It’s been a month already, and I’ve done nothing but mope around.” He looks up and his eyes hold the most sincerity Ten’s ever seen. “I never knew how much it hurt you that I kept asking about your baby. I was using you, and I didn’t even know it. I’m so sorry, Tennie. Please forgive me.”

Ten blinks back tears and sits down, scooting closer to Taeyong. “Look at me. I know you’re hurting right now. I understand that. Our babies were supposed to come within a few days of each other, Taeyong. You weren’t using me, you were genuinely looking out for us.” Ten reaches out and takes Taeyong’s hand, placing the older’s palm on his barely existent baby bump. “Johnny and I have been thinking, and we want you guys to name the baby whatever name you wanted for yours. If that’s okay with you. We also want you guys to be the godparents, to both this baby and Hyuck.”

Jaehyun’s eyes fill with tears and he squeezes Taeyong’s hand.

“A-are you sure?” Taeyong whispers, not trusting his voice to go any louder.

“We’re absolutely positive.”

Jaehyun and Taeyong cry with Ten a little bit longer as their children all play together.

Eventually, Ten gets a call from Johnny, asking where he is. Ten tells him that he’s at Taeyong and Jaehyun’s, and that he’ll be back soon.

The adults had moved to the kitchen, where Taeyong and Jaehyun had insisted that they take some food home for him and Johnny. Ten accepts the offer and while the couple are packing up container after container of food, Ten goes to fetch his son. In the living room, Jeno and Jaemin are quietly playing with a train set, and not far off, a small mound of animal plushies and blankets is slowly breathing in sleep. The twins had covered Donghyuck in a blanket when they saw that he had fallen asleep, and then placed an animal fence around the baby to protect him.

Ten snaps a picture of the sweet scene to show Johnny later, and scoops his little bundle off the ground, kissing Jeno and Jaemin goodbye.

Jaehyun has already taken the food out to Ten’s car, so he goes into the kitchen to find Taeyong and say goodbye.

“Thank you,” Taeyong whispers as he gently hugs Ten, not wanting to wake the baby. “We love you guys so much.”

“We love you too, hyung.” Ten says, kissing Taeyong’s cheek.

He does the same to Jaehyun, and then he’s off.

Johnny’s overly excited when Ten gets home, because of the food, because Donghyuck is asleep already, and because his husband is  _ finally  _ home.

They romance over dinner in bed, courtesy of their family: Taeyong, Jaehyun, Jeno, and Jaemin.

**June 6th**

**One Year**

Ten is over-emotional.

Not only is he four months pregnant, but his little sunshine boy is a year old today, and Ten can’t believe what a year it’s been.

He wakes up crying, melting in Johnny arms, sniveling,  _ my baby isn’t a baby anymore! My baby is so big! _

Johnny may or may not have cried as well.

They spend the day together, just the three of them. Johnny and Ten take Donghyuck to his first zoo field trip (he cried when the gorillas threw poop at the glass where he’d been watching), out to eat ice cream (his parents got him chocolate, just so they could see how adorable he looked with it all over his face), and to a park (where he took his first assisted steps with Johnny).

They end the day laying bed, cuddling their son who lay between them, resting his head on his mama’s tummy. Ten runs his fingers through Donghyuck’s loose, long curls, thumbs over all his tiny moles and birthmarks, rubs his little back.

Donghyuck never got as big as he really should’ve, because he’s been so sick during his first year of life. So, he’s smaller than an average one year old, but his parents are okay with it, because they’re sure he’ll catch up when he’s older.

Johnny watches as his husband loves upon their son, and he starts to get emotional again.

“Ten,” he whispers, using his hand to pull up the younger’s jaw up to look at him.

“Yes, love?” Ten whispers back.

“We’ve been parents for a year. And even though it’s been really hard, and there have been some really scary moments, I wouldn’t have been able to raise this baby without you. Thank you, honey, for being the best mother that ever existed, thank you for being the best husband that ever existed. I love you and Donghyuck more than anything in the entire world.”

Ten sniffles, several tears escaping his eyes. “I love you too, Johnny. You’re the best father ever, and Donghyuckie is so lucky to have you as his.”

The year has been a rollercoaster, and Johnny and Ten both know it’s only going to get crazier in about five months, but they have each other, and that’s all they need.

_ Fin.  _

**Author's Note:**

> kudos & comments = me happy  
> me happy = me want to write more  
> me write more = you happy  
> you happy = kudos & comments
> 
> repeat :)


End file.
